Those You've Known
by Anna Flair
Summary: Tom Riddle couldn't live without her. She was the one thing that was worth living for. But what if she could live without him? Problems soon arise that provide challenges Tom never foresaw. Voldemort didn't always have a completely cold heart.
1. It All Started at Lunch

**Those You've Known**

**Chapter 1- It All Started at Lunch**

"Professor, I don't understand why we keep Muggles around. I'm sure it would be quite easy to kill off the entire race. You must admit we are superior to them."

Tom Riddle Jr. was sitting in his Muggle Studies class, debating the professor over the usefulness of Muggles…again.

"Well, Tom, you see, Muggles are actually an interesting race. We can learn a lot from them."

"Oh, I'm sure we can learn many things from them, Professor. I just don't believe we can learn anything _useful._"

"Ah, well then, I suppose anything I say won't change your mind-set. I've debated you on this many times, Tom, and I'd prefer that you do not question me. After all, I am the professor and you are the student. Now class, it seems that our time together has run out, but I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow when we begin our discussion on Muggle bath toys. Good day to you all."

Tom stood up with the rest of the class and rolled his eyes. "I seriously question the intellect of some of the professors here," Tom muttered to his friend, Zion.

"I agree," Zion said as they walked out of the classroom and headed to lunch. "I mean, does Professor Binns even know what he's talking about half of the bloody time? And Professor Dumbledore, I've never seen an odder bloke my whole entire life."

"Dumbledore's a genius, Zion. I would've thought you were smarter than to assume I was talking about him. In fact, I was talking about everyone here _besides_ him," Tom said scathingly as they stepped into the Great Hall. He craned his head above the crowd of people, searching for someone.

"Are you looking for Cecilia again? Bloody hell, Tom! She's a Gryffindor. You're a Slytherin!"

"I don't need you to remind me what house I'm in, Zion. And I shall do as I please. Don't you think you should go eat something? I could hear your stomach rumbling from across the classroom in Muggle Studies," Tom sneered as Zion hurried off to the Slytherin table.

"Hey Tom, who're you looking for?" Tom turned to see a girl with bright blue eyes and long curly blond hair looking at him with a huge smile on her face. _Cecilia._

"You, actually. Come on, I'm starved, let's go eat," Tom turned and began to walk towards the end of the Hufflepuff table. If they ate lunch together at either the Slytherin table or the Gryffindor table, people would be giving them dirty looks the entire time, but the Hufflepuffs, on the other hand, could care less about them.

"Wait Tom," Cecilia said, grabbing his arm. "I don't know if we should eat together anymore." She frowned. "My friends have been saying that we're being gossiped about. And I-"

"Why do care what people say?" Tom asked, cutting her off.

"It's just…it makes me uncomfortable. My friends are talking to me less and less. They think I'm going to the dark side. Soon I'll have nobody to talk to."

"You'll have me," Tom said, not understanding why Cecilia was so bothered.

"Tom, we only see each other during mealtime. How do you think it feels to sit in the Gryffindor common room all by myself as everyone else is having fun with their friends? It hurts."

"And do you think I don't go through the same thing?" Tom asked angrily. "Do you think that I'm not ignored? Because I am, Cecilia, I always have been. Ever since I was dropped off at the orphanage as a baby I've been alone. How do you think _that_ feels?"

"I'm sorry, Tom," Cecilia whispered, tears in her eyes. She sighed and wiped the tears away. "You know what? Let's just forget this and eat." She led the way over to the Hufflepuff table and they both sat down.

"You don't have to eat with me if you don't want to," Tom mumbled as he grabbed a tuna sandwich off of a platter of food.

"No," Cecilia said, shaking her head, "I want to. So," her voice brightened, "How were your classes this morning?"

Tom rolled his eyes. "Potions was confusing; thank God Slughorn likes me, or else I'd be failing his class. Charms was way too simplistic. Muggle Studies was absolutely horrendous. The professor still won't accept the fact that we're superior to Muggles and that we need to completely wipe out the race."

Cecilia frowned, looking disturbed. "What do you have against Muggles? You were raised by Muggles."

"And they made my life a living hell. They're good for nothing, Cecilia. What, do you're parents actually believe Muggles are useful?"

"Well, actually-"

"And let me guess. You're parents were in Gryffindor. They're about the only House that actually accepts Muggles and Mudbloods." Tom made a sound of disgust. "If it were up to me, no Mudblood would ever be allowed to step foot into Hogwarts. They're just like Muggles. Unworthy."

Cecilia's face paled ever so slightly. "Tom," she whispered, "You shouldn't speak like that, it's wrong."

"Whatever," Tom said, stuffing his mouth with food. "At least you're a pureblood. I'd hate if you were a Mudblood. There'd be no way we could've been friends if you were a Mudblood. It wouldn't have been acceptable."

Cecilia lowered her eyes. "Yeah…Tom…I don't-"

"Cecilia, you haven't eaten anything. Are you feeling alright?" Tom asked, completely oblivious to Cecilia's discomfort.

"I'm fine, Tom, really," she said, noticing how concerned he looked. "I just, um, remembered a Potions paper I had due today that I didn't start yet. I should prob-"

"Take mine," Tom offered. "Slughorn won't even notice."

"No, I couldn't ask you to do that," Cecilia said, standing up. "I'll see you at dinner." She ran away from the table, leaving Tom confused and lonely.

* * *

When dinner arrived, Tom was apprehensive about seeing Cecilia. Her abrupt exit at lunch worried him. He walked into the Great Hall, scanning the tables for her. Not finding her, he sat down at the Hufflepuff table and waited for her arrival. By the time she came, dessert was already being served. Tom was just about to get up and go sit over at the Slytherin table when he saw her walking in. She was with someone. A boy. They were laughing together as they walked, and when they parted, Cecilia hugged him.

Tom frowned as Cecilia happily walked over to the Hufflepuff table. "Hey Tom," she greeted him, looking much happier than she did at lunch.

"Who's the guy you walked in with?" Tom asked, trying to sound uninterested.

"Laurence? He's in Ravenclaw and a fifth year like us. He helped me with my Potions paper." Cecilia grabbed a piece of pumpkin pie and began eating it hungrily.

Tom stared at Cecilia in confusion. "I offered to help you with the paper," he said quietly.

"No, Tom, you offered to give me your paper. It's different. I just didn't think cheating was the right thing to do." She shrugged and smiled at him.

Tom was far from smiling. "I could've helped you if you needed help," he muttered, biting into a piece of chocolate cake.

"You know you're no good in Potions. You even said so yourself at lunch. You said that it was confusing. It was just easier to go to Laurence."

Tom scratched the back of his neck. "Are you and Laurence friends?" he asked, avoiding Cecilia's gaze.

"Not particularly," she said slowly, gazing curiously at Tom. "Are you jealous?" she asked incredulously.

"No!" Tom said, quickly, his cheeks turning light pink. Why was he acting like this? He didn't like Cecilia in that way. They were just friends. That's all. "If you guys aren't friends, though, why'd you hug him?" Tom asked, still avoiding her gaze.

"It was a simple thank you gesture. Tom, why are you acting this way? You know you're my best friend here at Hogwarts."

"I know," Tom murmured, pushing a brownie crumb around his plate. The conversation was becoming too uncomfortable for him.

"Then what's the problem? You're acting like my father."

"Look," Tom said, finally meeting her gaze. "I was just asking a question. So can we just drop it? For being my best friend, you're awfully oblivious to how uncomfortable I am with this. In fact, you seem to be completely oblivious to all of my feelings."

Tom stopped abruptly, knowing he went too far. A look of hurt crossed Cecilia's face. "I'm oblivious to you're feelings? Did you not notice how I felt at lunch? How uncomfortable _I _was? I was just going to forget about it and move on. But then you have the audacity to say that I'm oblivious to your feelings." She stood up, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "You can go eat with someone who isn't so oblivious to you feelings from now on." Cecilia turned around and hurriedly ran out of the Great Hall.

"Wait!" Tom called, but it was too late. He put his head in his hands and silently cursed Cecilia for making him feel like this. In fact, she was the only one that ever made him feel _anything._ Maybe that's why he hung out with her so often. But did he really have a crush on her? He didn't think so. He'd only seen her as a friend throughout the past five years. When he saw her with Laurence, though, something coursed through him. Something he couldn't describe. It was like a mixture of hatred and wanting. He refused to admit that it was jealousy. Tom Riddle was not jealous of anyone. Jealousy was for weak people. He was not weak.

Tom stood up, deciding that sorting through his feelings caused him too much of a headache. He'd sort through them some other time, when he wasn't so tired and upset. Or maybe he wouldn't even need to sort through them; maybe everything would just fall into place without him even needing to think about it.

He took a longer, roundabout route back to the common room, hoping to perhaps see Cecilia again. She wasn't anywhere to be found, and Tom retired to the Slytherin dorm room, already forming in his head what he was going to say to Cecilia when he saw her at breakfast.

* * *

Tom walked down to breakfast with Zion the next morning. He was talking about a first year that had accidentally cast a spell in Charms class that made Professor Flitwick turn into a monkey.

"Isn't that a little advanced for a first year?" Tom asked, even though he wasn't really paying attention.

"I suppose. I don't think the kid really knew what he was doing, though."

"What's his name?" Tom asked as they entered the Great Hall.

"Lucius Malfoy. He's in Slytherin with us."

"Mm. I'll have to keep him in mind," Tom said as he searched for Cecilia.

"In mind for what?" Zion inquired.

"Nothing," Tom said, annoyed that he didn't see Cecilia anywhere. Zion frowned at him before going over to the Slytherin table.

Just then, Tom spotted her. She was sitting at the Ravenclaw table. With Laurence. Anger bubbled up inside of Tom, and he debated whether or not to go over and ask to speak with her in private. No. If she isn't going to apologize, then he won't either. He stalked over to the Slytherin table and sat down next to Zion.

What he didn't know, though, was that across the room, Cecilia saw him. She saw the anger flash across his face. And as he went over to the Slytherin table, a single tear fell from her eye.

* * *

**Author's Note:**  
**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of "Those You've Known". I'm also in the middle of a Hunger Games fan-fic titled "Their Worst Nightmare" so it may be a while until I update this again. That is, unless I get a lot of reviews, in which case, I'll update as soon as I can. I just need to know that this story has a fan-base. Sooo, REVIEW! =) It'll make me happy, and in the long run, make YOU happy.**


	2. No Way to Expect the Unexpected

** Chapter 2- No Way to Expect the Unexpected**

**A/N: Review after reading!**

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They didn't talk for weeks. When they passed each other in the halls, they both turned their heads in the opposite direction. When they entered the Great Hall at the same time, they pretended the other wasn't there. It went on like that for weeks, until one day, in Potions class.

Tom was lazily stirring his extremely simplistic potion when he heard his name called. He looked up to see Professor Slughorn beaming down at him.

"Tom, I'd like you to work on something more advanced than what you're brewing now. You have too much talent to be working on something so basic. Come to my desk," Professor Slughorn said, beckoning him to the front of the room.

Tom sighed and stood up, thinking that whatever potion Slughorn was going to give him was still going to be too simplistic for him. He reached Slughorn's desk, only to find Cecilia already standing there.

Tom's body went rigid and he stared at her, frowning. She weakly smiled back at him as Slughorn looked between the two, trying to figure out what the tension was all about.

"Tom, I figured the potion I'll be having you make will be too difficult to complete alone, so I asked Cecilia to come and help. You both are the smartest wizard and witch in this group. I hope this won't be a problem, Tom?" Slughorn asked, raising his eyebrows.

Tom looked at Cecilia once more before turning to Professor Slughorn and giving him a tight smile. "Not at all, Professor."

"Very well, then. The instructions for the potion are on the table. I'll be back to check on you in a half hour." Slughorn smiled at Tom and Cecilia once more before walking away.

Tom and Cecilia stood awkwardly together, not knowing what to say. Finally, Cecilia broke the silence, looking down at the instructions for the potion.

"Well," she said hesitantly, "I'll go get the dragon scales. Why don't you start cutting up some spider legs?" She walked off towards the supply cupboard, not waiting for Tom to respond.

He stood, staring after her, for a moment. _Come on Tom_, he thought, _she's just a person. You shouldn't feel this awkward around her. Plus, she's a Gryffindor. You're better than her. Just make the potion and move on_. He tried to convince himself that this was the best thing to do, but inside he was longing for closure with Cecilia. Without her, he had no one to talk to. Nobody to express his thoughts to. But as much as he wished to talk to Cecilia again, there was no possible way he could apologize. His Slytherin pride was too great to do such a thing.

"What have you been doing this whole time?"

Tom was suddenly forced back into reality and found Cecilia standing in front of him, her arms loaded with supplies.

"I was just…um," Tom groped for an excuse.

"Never mind," said Cecilia, shaking her head. "Let's just get this over with." She placed the supplies on the table, grabbed some spider legs, and put them in front of Tom. "Start cutting," she instructed.

He began to cut as she started tearing apart dragon scales. An awkward silence hung in the air. Tom finished cutting up the spider legs, and began to throw them into the cauldron. Cecilia poured some sort of fluid Tom didn't recognize into the cauldron and proceeded to tell Tom that they had to wait ten minutes before they could continue the potion.

Tom nodded curtly and leaned against the table. He began to fiddle with his hands, not knowing what else to do. He could feel Cecilia staring at him.

"Tom?" he heard her say after a few minutes of total silence, and he looked up to see her eyes brimming with tears.

Tom coughed and felt his cheeks redden. He didn't know how to deal with a crying girl. "Um, is the potion ready?" he asked, avoiding her gaze.

"We have to stop this," she said, taking a deep breath. "I miss talking with you, Tom. And I know you feel the same way. I also know that you're strange Slytherin pride prevents you from apologizing first. So just listen to me. I'm sorry. For everything."

Tom stared at Cecilia, gauging her sincerity. Finally, he mumbled, "It wasn't really your fault."

"Part of it was, though. I shouldn't have pressed the subject of your jealousy of Laurence. It was obvious you were uncomfortable. If it makes you feel any better, though, Laurence and I are just friends."

Tom didn't say anything. He picked up the ladle that was sitting in the potion, and began stirring slowly. Another round of silence began.

"Just say something, Tom!" Cecilia nearly shouted after a moment. Some of the kids sitting in the classroom began to stare at her, and she bowed her head in embarrassment. Moving closer to Tom, she whispered so that only he could hear, "The silence is becoming unbearable."

"You know what?" Tom said, abruptly dropping the ladle back into the potion and stepping towards Cecilia. She took a step back, startled by his abruptness. "Let's just forget this ever happened. It's no use talking about the past. So it's best-"

Tom saw Professor Slughorn approaching the table and stopped talking. "Ah, Tom, the potion looks wonderful! I see Cecilia is certainly proving to be a big help! Perhaps I should have you two work together more often." Cecilia smiled weakly as Tom stared at his feet, no sign of emotion in his face. "Well," Slughorn said, raising his voice so the rest of the class could hear, "That's all the time we have for today! Tomorrow we'll continue making our Tickling Potions! For tonight, I'd like you all to write a 5,000 word essay on the necessity of these potions during the Witch Hunts of the 1500s."

As everyone began to leave the room, Tom quickly whispered to Cecilia "I'll see you at lunch." before heading out the door towards Transfiguration.

The morning seemed to go on forever, at least, that's how Tom felt. He was quite happy that he was going to be eating lunch with Cecilia again, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Throughout Transfiguration he had images of Cecilia storming out of the Great Hall at something he said, or worse, not even come to eat with him at all. He could just picture her walking into the Great Hall, hand in hand with Laurence, not even looking for Tom, but instead heading straight to the Ravenclaw table. Oh, how embarrassed and infuriated he would be if that were to happen.

Tom got himself so worked up, that when it came time to head to lunch, he had decided that he wouldn't sit down at the Hufflepuff table afterall, but instead head straight to the Slytherin's. Tom Riddle was not going to be the newest embarrassment of Hogwarts. It turned out, though, that Cecilia got to the Great Hall first, and was already sitting at the Hufflepuff table. She was anxiously looking towards the entrance doors, and when she saw Tom, she beckoned him over. Tom sighed in relievement, happy that he didn't have to sit with those pathetic excuses for Slytherins.

"Well, this is certainly nice," Cecilia gushed as Tom sat down across from her. "It's nice to talk to you again, Tom."

"It's nice to talk to you, too," Tom admitted, piling food onto his plate.

Suddenly, it seemed as if Cecilia remembered something, because she became very uncomfortable. "Tom?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?" he asked, frowning at Cecilia's nervous expression.

"Do you remember the last time we ate lunch together? You were talking about Muggles?"

Tom snorted. "Oh, I recall. Such useless creatures. And to think that some wizards find out to mate with them. Even worse, to think that there are actually Muggleborns here at this very school!" Just thinking about Muggles brought a sick feeling to Tom's stomach. It felt so nice to express his disgust to someone other than a Slytherin. He could go on for hours about how useless Muggles were. As he talked about this to Cecilia, his voice became louder and louder. But then, Cecilia said something that made him lose his voice altogether.

"I'm Muggleborn."

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed Chapter 2! I would be more happy than a newly freed house elf IF YOU WOULD REVIEW! I love reviews. A lot. Almost as much as I love Harry Potter. So...review, review, review, review! =D**


	3. Friends Are Enemies in Disguise

**Chapter 3- Friends Are Enemies in Disguise**

Silence. Tom had no idea how to react. His best friend had just told him that she was Muggleborn. That was impossible. Muggleborns were different. They were stupid. Tom could easily make out the difference between Muggleborns and purebloods. There were startling differences between the two races. Yet, how could he not have been able to tell that _Cecilia _was Muggleborn? He stared at her as if he had never seen her before, trying to find the characteristics all Muggleborns have, but not being to find any on Cecilia.

"You're lying," Tom said quietly. That was the only logical explanation.

Cecilia shook her head, "I'm serious, Tom."

"Cecilia," Tom said tightly, "I don't appreciate these jokes. You know how seriously I take these kinds of things."

"I told you I was serious!" Cecilia said exasperatedly.

"You can't be," Tom forcefully said, leaning towards her. "I know what Muggleborns are. You can't possibly be one of _them. _They're dirty fakers who should be the ones serving us purebloods. They should-"

"I'M ONE OF THEM. JUST ACCEPT IT," Cecilia shouted, standing up. Some of the Hufflepuffs sitting near them began to stare, wide-eyed, until Tom gave them all deadly glares.

"Would you sit down?" Tom whispered urgently, grabbing Cecilia's arm and pulling her back down into her seat. In the back of his mind, he thought that he should be disgusted that he was touching a Muggleborn, but he shook away the thought quickly. "Does anybody else know about this?" Tom asked her quietly.

"No, because nobody else seems to care like you do, but if somebody asked, I would proudly say that I was Muggleborn."

"Don't," Tom began, his voice sounding deadly, "say anything to anyone. You can't let anybody know of this."

"Well why not?" Cecilia asked, frowning.

"I just don't think it'd do you any good to tell anyone," Tom said, avoiding her eyes.

"Or are you just embarrassed? If you're embarrassed by me, Tom, you can go. You don't have to stay here with me. I'll be fine on my own. I do have _other_ friends, you know."

"Just give time to think about this," Tom said, ignoring her jab about "other friends". He stood up and began to gather his things. "I'll talk to you tomorrow at lunch. For dinner tonight, just sit with somebody else, like Laurence." His nose wrinkled in disgust when he said "Laurence".

"Don't tell me what to do," Cecilia said, matching Tom's deadly tone perfectly. She quickly gathered her things and swept out of the Great Hall. Tom groaned. He could feel a gigantic headache approaching.

He went through the rest of his day trying to avoid thinking about Cecilia , but knowing that it was inevitable. When dinner came, he sat with Zion and the other Slytherins, noticing that Cecilia was, in fact, sitting with Laurence. She seemed to be having a good time, too. At least, a better time than Tom was having.

He had no patience for the immature jokes the Slytherins shared with each other, and he had even less patience for their seemingly "intelligent" conversations about Muggles. They actually believed Muggles kept rubber ducks as pets and used car keys to trim nose hairs. Tom could only sigh and shake his head; he had lost faith in the intelligence of the Slytherin house a long time ago.

When the time came to go to bed, Tom stayed in the Slytherin common room, knowing that there was no way he could sleep with thoughts of Cecilia still fresh in his mind. He wasn't the only one who stayed in the common room; Zion also decided to hang back.

"Hey Tom," Zion called, a couple of minutes after Tom had begun dissecting his feelings for Cecilia.

"What?" he asked, turning his head towards Zion, who was sitting on top of the wizard chess table.

"You and Cecilia seem to be spending a lot of time together," Zion remarked.

Tom didn't answer, but turned back to facing the fireplace.

"Well?" Zion asked, and it seemed as if he was trying to get at something.

"Well what?" Tom asked, annoyed at the interruptions.

"Are you two, you know, together?"

Tom rolled his eyes. "Of course not," he said, "You of all people should know that Gryffindors and Slytherins don't belong together."

"Yes, I know, but it does seem like you two spend a lot of time together."

Tom stood up and moved closer to Zion. "Is it really any of your business who I spend time with? Maybe I want to have an intellectual conversation once in a while. Since none of the other Slytherins seem to know how to, I have to go find other company."

Zion hopped off the chess table and moved closer to Tom, until they were directly in front of each other. "Are you implying that I'm stupid?" Zion asked quietly, glaring at Tom.

Tom laughed and rolled his eyes, moving away from Zion. "Of course not," he began, "It's just that there are others out there that are _more_ intelligent."

"So what you're saying is that Cecilia is more intelligent than me? Am I to understand that you believe that a Gryffindor is more smarter than a Slytherin?"

Tom just shook his head and sat back down in his seat by the fire. "I don't want to have this conversation, Zion."

"You know what I heard?" Zion asked, his voice becoming malicious.

"What?" Tom asked, even though he really didn't care.

"Cecilia is a Mudblood."

Tom froze for a second, his eyes wide, before he regained his composure. "And where'd you hear that from?" he asked, making sure he sounded like he didn't care.

"Oh, no one imparticular. But isn't it just obvious? Just by looking at her you can tell. I'm surprised _you _haven't seen it before, Tom."

Tom rolled his eyes, as anger began to build up inside of him. "You know me well enough to know that I can spot a Mudblood from a mile away, Zion. Wouldn't you think I would be able to tell if Cecilia was a Mudblood?"

"Maybe you have known, Tom," Zion said darkly, "But if that's true, then why would you be eating meals with her?"

Tom didn't answer, but instead just stared into the fire.

Zion came up behind him and put his hands on the back of Tom's chair. "If the rest of the Slytherin house was to find out that you were best friends with a Mudblood, they'd turn your life into a living hell, Tom," he said threateningly.

Tom continued to stare into the fire, no emotions crossing his face.

"Maybe I'd be the one to tell them…that is, if I was given a reason to."

"Are you trying to blackmail me?" Tom asked, his face twisted in disgust.

"Perhaps," Zion said, nonchalant. "I think it'd be smart of you to eat meals with us "stupid" Slytherins from now on Tom. I'd also think it would be smart of you to never talk to that filthy Mudblood again. Unless of course, you don't mind the whole Slytherin house knowing what you're doing," Zion's voice lowered to a whisper.

Tom stood up quickly, anger seeping from him. "And what is it that I'm doing exactly, Zion?"

"You're hanging around the Mudblood!"

"How many times will I have to tell you that she's not a Mudblood before it gets through your thick skull?"

"I'd watch it, Tom."

"Screw you," Tom muttered, rolling his eyes. He walked past Zion, and without another word, walked up to his dorm room.

Lying in his bed, Tom was even more unsettled than he was before. How dare Zion try to blackmail him. How did he even know that Cecilia was a Mudblood? Unless Cecilia lied to him, and actually _had_ told somebody besides himself. If that was the case, then there was no need to even consider remaining friends eith her; the fact that she lied to him was enough to end their friendship altogether. Cecilia wasn't a person who normally lied, though. In fact, she was perfect, except for the fact that she's a Mudblood. And, the longer Tom thought about it, the more reasons he found to stay her friend. Who cares what the rest of the Slytherin house would say? Damn them all. When he would rise to power in the future (which he knew he would), he'd kill them all mercilessly.

Tom slept soundly that night, confident that he made the right choice.

He was so eager to continue his friendship with Cecilia, that he couldn't wait until that afternoon to talk to her. Instead, he marched up to her at the Ravenclawduring breakfast, politely asking for a moment alone with her, to which she agreed. She smiled apologetically at her friends, including Laurence, which Tom definitely noted. He also noted the fact that all the people Cecilia was sitting with seemed very disturbed and on edge, especially Laurence. Cecilia got up, and with a

They went over to the Hufflepuff table and sat down. Cecilia looked terribly uncomfortable as Tom began to speak, "Cecilia, I thought it over long and hard last night and-"

"I'm pregnant," she blurted out.

**A/N:**  
**Like where I'm going with this? MENTION IT WHEN YOU REVIEW. Hate where I'm going with this? MENTION IT IN YOUR REVIEW. Pregnant Cecilia can definitely be changed to Unpregnant Cecilia if a lot of people have problems. But I can't know unless you REVIEW! I'll even enjoy reviews that just talk about Voldemort's nose. Basically, REVIEW. Oh, and hope you enjoyed this chapter =)**


	4. Decisions and Consequences

**Chapter 4- Decisions and Consequences**

"Am I the…?" Tom asked, not bringing himself to say the now extremely frightening "f" word.

"What? Of course not! I mean, we never…" A slight blush crept on to Cecilia's face.

"No," Tom quickly said, shaking his head. "Never. But if it isn't mine, whose child is it?"

"That's the problem," Cecilia spoke so quietly and quickly that Tom had to lean all the way across the table to hear. "I don't know who the father is. I have no recollection of ever…" Her voice trailed off as her eyes became glazed.

"Are you saying someone erased your memory?"

"Exactly," she frowned, biting her lip.

"How do you know you're even pregnant?" Tom asked. "Maybe it's a false alarm."

"No," Cecilia sadly said, "I can _feel_ the child inside of me. I'm definitely pregnant." She put her head into her hands.

"Are you not telling me something?" Tom asked, growing suspicious.

"Laurence said he was the father," she blurted out.

"You…and him?" Tom asked, disgusted and outraged at the same time.

"I don't know," Cecilia said, her blonde hair moving ever so slightly with the shake of her head. "I'll admit that it doesn't make much sense. I was never fond of him in _that_ way, but besides you, he's the only likely candidate."

"I just don't understand why somebody would erase your memory," Tom began massaging his temple, knowing another huge headache was approaching.

Cecilia shrugged. "None of this makes any sense. I'd never thought I'd be so stupid."

"Maybe you were under the influence of something," Tom remarked casually. Suddenly, he sat up straighter, an explanation to all of this forming in his mind. "Perhaps a _lot_ of people were under the influence of something. Perhaps somebody threatened to tell a professor what was going on, so somebody else, not wanting to be caught, erased their memory of the event, erasing the memory of everyone in the room also, just in case someone else should decide to tell."

"I don't know, Tom," Cecilia hesitantly began, "To perform a spell like that on a roomful of people is quite difficult."

Tom nodded, his gaze moving towards and finally landing on Laurence and his friends sitting across the room. "It would be a difficult spell for _most_ people, but let's not overlook the intelligence of our dear Ravenclaw friends."

"Oh my goodness," Cecilia gasped. "You're right. I do believe I remember hearing something about the crazy parties the Ravenclaws sometimes hold." She clutched her throat, the look on her face one of pure disgust. "To think that I actually went to a party like that. And to think…" She looked down at her stomach.

Tom didn't hear anything Cecilia was saying; his mind was hard at work, trying to make sense of everything. "What doesn't make sense is the fact that Laurence already knew he was the father. If the whole room's memory was erased, his would've been erased as well."

Cecilia rolled her eyes. "He has a massive crush on me. Laurence probably had no clue, but was just saying that in hopes that I would actually date him or something."

"Well, one thing is certain," Tom leaned towards her, his face set hard with resolve. "We have to get rid of it."

Cecilia's hand flew down to her stomach, and put them protectively over it. "No," she said simply. "Laurence and I already decided that I would carry the child and then put it up for adoption after it was born."

"Are you mental?" Tom nearly shouted. "Do you know how much ridicule you're going to face? I can just imagine what the Slytherins are going to say when they find out that you're pregnant!"

"I'm going to carry the child, Tom," she said, and it seemed as if she was trying to convince herself of this. It was uncertain enough to make Tom wonder if her mind _really _was made up to carry it.

An unseen clock chimed, signaling for everyone to get to their first class. As Cecilia and Tom stood up, he left her with these final words, "If you change your mind, come to me. Last year I read a book on how to perform things like that. It's quite simple actually. I could do it with my eyes closed." With that, he walked away, leaving Cecilia more upset and confused than ever.

* * *

The rest of the day went by in a blur. When Potions arrived, Cecilia and Tom worked on their potion in silence, only talking when necessary. It was like an imaginary wall had built itself between them, and Tom was in no mood to try and break it down. Dinnertime came, and as Tom walked into the Great Hall, he saw Cecilia sitting with Laurence, so he proceeded over to the Slytherin table, taking a seat next to Zion. Every now and then Tom would glance over at Cecilia, only to find her looking right back, a sad expression on her face. Before Tom could motion back or mouth something to her, her attention would be diverted quickly back to Laurence.

"You were smart to stay away from the Mudblood," Zion whispered to Tom as desserts galore appeared on the table.

"I didn't stop talking to her because of you," Tom spat. "Your sad attempt at blackmailing me was far from impressive."

Zion laughed. "Oh, so are you telling me the Mudblood broke up with you? No wonder you seemed so upset."

Tom sighed and shook his head slowly. "How many times must I tell you that we're just friends?"

Zion ignored his statement. "Did she break up with you for the Ravenclaw? Seems like she wanted to have a more 'intelligent' conversation, Tom."

"Would you shut up?" Tom asked, on his last nerve.

"No need to blame me for your own faults," Zion said defensively, a slight smirk on his face.

"That's it," Tom said, standing up. "You're a complete idiot, Zion. And I'd appreciate it if you never talk to me again." With that, he left the Great Hall swiftly, and headed up to the library where he planned to spend his night.

* * *

Two hours later, Tom was sitting in a library chair, reading the same book he had read a year ago about how to get rid of unborn babies. He was slightly disturbed at it all, but knew that it would be the only way to save Cecilia from months of torment.

"Tom?" he heard his name called and looking up from his book, saw Cecilia standing at the library doors, her face streaked with tears. Putting down the book, he stood up, and motioned for her to come over. She ran to him and put her arms around him, locking him in an uncomfortable embrace.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked, his face flushed.

"I thought he liked me," she said between sobs, "but as I was walking back to the Gryffindor common room, I saw him snogging some girl. Oh, it was mortifying. I was too shocked to even say anything. I just ran away, and I knew I had to find you. I asked some Slytherins where you were, but they said they didn't know. And I knew you spent a lot of time here, so I came here and found you." She broke away from him, wiping away tears and trying to regain her composure. "I had to find you because," she took a deep breath, "I want the baby gone."

There was a moment of silence as Tom tried to revover from the shock of everything she just told him. "Uh, okay then," he said hesitantly.

"Just tell me what I have to do," Cecilia whispered.

Tom turned around and picked up the book he was just reading, trying to find the page he was just on. "Lay down," he instructed. She complied and Tom knelt down beside her. "I just have to perform an incantation. It says here that it might hurt a little," he added, pulling out his wand. "Are you ready?"

Cecilia took a deep breath. "Yes," she said bravely.

Tom gulped and looked down at the book. He muttered the incantation quietly, bringing his wand slowly down as he said it, until it rested on Cecilia's stomach. A band of black light shot from the wand and wrapped itself around Cecilia's middle. It began to grow smaller and smaller until it looked like it was _in_ her. She let out a blood curdiling scream and the hairs on Tom's arms stood up. He stared in shock as her body began to twist in ways he didn't think possible for the human body to do. Suddenly, the black light was gone, and instead, there was a patch of blood right in the center of her stomach. The patch began to grow and grow, until Cecilia's whole stomach was covered in red. Tom panicked, not having any idea what to do. Cecilia began to sit up slowly, almost as some force was pushing her forward. Her eyes flew open, and she screamed once more, before collapsing onto the ground in a heap of blood.

Tom grabbed the book and began looking through it swiftly, trying to find a spell that would get rid of the blood. He found one a minute later, and performed it quickly. The blood covering Cecilia seemed to retract, and in a few minutes there was nothing left. She was still unconscious, and Tom shook her slowly, trying to get her to wake up. "Cecilia?" he whispered, as the thought that she could possibly be dead entered his mind. He began to shake her more forcefully, and moisture began to fill up his eyes. "Cecilia! Wake up!" he shouted, not caring if anyone heard.

Suddenly, her body jerked forward, and with a start, Cecilia woke up. Her pupils were huge as she sat up, trying to figure out where she was. "Cecilia?" Tom asked hesitantly, reaching out towards her. She turned towards him and her pupils suddenly grew small. A strangled sob escaped her lips. "Tom," she cried, "Oh God!" Moving towards Tom, she collapsed in his arms. She began to cry, and started to say something that Tom couldn't understand.

"What are you saying?" he asked.

"The baby," she cried, "It _was_ yours."

**Author's Note: OH SNAP! Did you see that coming? Well, maybe you did. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 4 of Those You've Known! I would really, really, really, really, really, REALLY appreciate it if you would **_**REVIEW**_**. Tell me if you like the story. Tell me if you don't like the story. Tell me you like pie. I DON'T CARE. Just **_**REVIEW**_**! It makes me happy =)**


	5. Living With Your Mistakes

**Chapter 5- Living With Your Mistakes**

"What? No, I explained to you before that it couldn't be mine," Tom shouted, trying to be heard over Cecilia's wild sobs.

Her sobs were cut off immediately, and she took a deep breath and sat up straighter, trying to regain her composure. "Right after you cast the spell," she said, rubbing her bloodshot eyes, "It was like I was reliving the conception over again. No, not reliving, more like _watching_ it happen," she corrected herself, seeming to be deep in thought. "I was standing in a dimly lit room, and it was cold. Very cold. The smell of alcohol was strong, and every now and then I would hear bursts of laughter. One time, I heard myself laugh, and I turned around to see you and I sitting together on a couch. We both had some kind of alcoholic drink in our hands, and we both were laughing hysterically. And then I leaned forward and…" She put her hands over her face, "I can't say it. Anyway, I just couldn't watch that, so I turned around to get a better look of the room, and that's when I realized where I was standing. It was the _Slytherin_ common room. Right then, somebody shouted drunkenly that they were going to tell Professor Snape what was going on. That's when your friend, what's his name? Oh yes, Zion, he stood up and told the other person to sit down if they knew what was good for them. The person didn't listen, and continued walking toward the door. Then Zion pulled out his wand and hexed the person. Then he proceeded to say something, which I assume was a Memory Erasing Charm, and well, everything seemed to get blurry after that. The last clear image I had was of you and I…" She cringed. "No, there is no question, you were definitely the father." Cecilia began to weep again.

Tom sat rigid and completely speechless. The child was _his_. He just killed _his_ child. If he had only known…

"So Zion must've cast a Memory Erasing Charm on the whole room. The only thing I can't understand though, Tom, is why you would even go to one of those parties."

Tom shook his head and waved his hand at the question. "That's not really the point, is it? The point is that I just killed _my_ child. It wasn't some damn Ravenclaw's, it was _mine_." For some reason, he couldn't stop putting emphasis on the "_my_".

"But you said it'd be better off if I didn't carry it," Cecilia said, obviously confused. She didn't think Tom would be that upset by the news.

"I also told myself that if I ever had a child, I'd raise it better than my parents could've ever raised me," he muttered.

"So is that what this all comes down to?" Cecilia asked. "You holding a grudge about the fact that you grew up in an orphanage?"

"It has to do with the fact that I just killed an unborn baby!"

"Well you didn't seem so bothered by that a few moments ago, when you still thought the child was Laurence's!" Cecilia shouted, her eyes growing wide.

"Well a few minutes ago I wasn't a father!"

"And you still aren't now!"

_Silence._

Tom put his head in his hands and leaned down. _He should be happy about this, shouldn't he? Now he won't have to worry about having to provide for a child, about all the Slytherins torturing him... _Still, Tom was secretly looking forward to the chance to become a father. He always dreamed about how well he'd be able to parent his child, how much better a father he'd be than his good-for-nothing father was to him. Now that chance was gone, and it was completely his fault. Of course, Cecilia was better off, now nobody would tease her or embarrass her. Yet, as Tom sat there, he could just imagine what good parents they both would make. Tom would go out and get a job in the Ministry, and Cecilia would stay home and care for the child. They'd make the perfect family.

Tom still had his head down as he heard Cecilia stand up and sigh. "There's nothing we can do about it now, Tom," she sighed. "What's done is done. We can still stay friends, right?" she asked, a twinge of hope in her voice.

Tom couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed at her words. Only friends. That's all she wanted to be. She was probably laughing inside at the absurdity at ever raising a child at Tom. _She's a Mudblood_, Tom reminded himself. _You wouldn't want to be seen with her anyway. You can definitely do better than her. _

"I guess," Tom said, sounding annoyed.

"Well then," Cecilia said, wiping away the final tears falling down her face, "I'm quite tired after all this, er, excitement, so I'm just going to go to bed." She smiled weakly at Tom. "See you at breakfast?"

"Sure," he said quietly, standing up. Cecilia walked out of the room, with him following behind her.

* * *

Even though it was very late, there were still a few stranglers left in the Slytherin common room, including Zion. Tom scowled at him as soon as he entered the room.

"What's the problem, Tom?" Zion asked, obviously oblivious.

"Oh I don't know," Tom said sarcastically, "I was just wondering how many times you've _erased my memory before_."

Zion's eyes widened slightly, but he kept his composure. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"And when was the last time you threw a drinking party? Was it yesterday? Or the day before that? Or-"

"Zion would never do something like that!" shouted another fifth year Tom only recognized by face.

"Oh no? I bet you were at every single drinking party he's ever thrown. Do you know why you don't remember? Because the bloody git erased all of our memories!"

"Shut up!" Zion shouted, jumping to his feet.

"Maybe he even has drinking parties every night," Tom continued. "Not that we would know, because like I said, he's erasing our memories! What else have you done before erasing our memories? Have you ever stolen anything from us? Perhaps I should go _tell Professor Snape..." _Tom gave Zion a death glare.

The fifth year that had just defended Zion was sitting wide-eyed, staring at Zion in shock. "Is that true, Zi?" he asked.

"I'm done with you," Zion muttered to Tom, and pulled out his wand. Tom immeidiately pulled out his own wand, and before Zion even had the chance to mutter a silly, little hex, Tom had him in a full body-bind.

Tom stood over Zion, smiling. "Never think you can get away with something like that. And try it again, and I _will_ find out, and you _will _be punished." With that, Tom walked tiredly off to bed.

* * *

The next morning, Tom arrived at the Hufflepuff table to find Cecilia already sitting there, nibbling nervously on a piece of toast.

"What's the matter?" Tom asked, yawning, as he sat down across from her.

"I had a nightmare last night," she murmured, frowning.

"What was it about?" Tom began to gulp down orange juice.

"The baby."

Tom nearly spit out the orange juice, and proceeded to have a coughing fit. "What (cough) about the (cough) baby?" he asked.

"It just appeared to me and was telling me that I shouldn't have killed it. That it would've made a great child, and that it's upset that I did away with it."

"What did it look like?" Tom asked eagerly, curious to find out what his child would've looked like.

"I don't remember," Cecilia said, her eyebrows forming a V.

"Well," Tom began, "You were very upset last night, so it's logical that you would have a dream like that."

"But what if it keeps coming back to haunt me?" Cecilia whispered. "What if it keeps haunting me for the rest of my life?" She dropped her head. "I'm already regretting this."

"That makes two of us," Tom muttered to himself.

"Just tell me everything is going to turn out okay," Cecilia plead weakly with him. Her face was again covered in fresh tears, and her eyes were puffier than ever. Tom noticed for the first time that morning that her hair wasn't even brushed.

"I can't tell you that," Tom said, looking sadly at her.

That seemed to be more than Cecilia could take, for she stood up, and with a quick "I have to go", ran out of the Great Hall.

Tom leaned his head against the table and closed his eyes, trying to imagine a life where he and Cecilia were the parents of a beautiful child.

He sat up suddenly, shaking away the thought. _It's no use to think like that_, he thought to himself. Blinking a couple of times, he pushed back the tears that were on the verge of falling down his face. _Tom Riddle _never_ cries_, he reminded himself.

It was then that Tom realized that this might be one problem that neither of them would be able to overcome.

**Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I must say, I really enjoy writing this story, and I hope you like reading it. As I always say, (and this is probably becoming old fast so I'll only say it only once) **_**REVIEW**_**! Cause it makes me happy. =D**


	6. The Miracle Worker

Chapter 6- The Miracle Worker 

They didn't talk about the baby from then on. Instead they made small talk at meals, and sometimes Tom believed that it was almost like old times…but then he would remember the baby and swirl back into a deep depression. No, things were not the same. Not the same at all. Their small talk was indeed small, and sometimes they chose not to talk at all. Tom and Cecilia were different people now, and nothing was going to change that. You would think that something like what happened to Tom and Cecilia would bring them closer together, but in fact, it was the complete opposite. It was as if a gigantic wall had formed between them. Even just looking at each other brought back the painful memory of that night. Sure, they weren't talking about the baby on the outside, but on the inside, that dead baby consumed their thoughts, minds, everything. Tom started having nightmares, and it got to the point where he was frightened to go to sleep. Of course, Tom didn't express any of this to anyone, and to the average student at Hogwarts, Tom looked the same as always.

It was Cecilia everyone was worried about. She had grown extremely thin, to the point where her bones could be easily seen. Her skin was paler than Professor Binn's and her golden hair had lost its shimmer. At least once a day people would come up to her and demand to know what was wrong; even teachers began to ask. But Cecilia would just smile weakly and tell them it was nothing. _Just the flu_, she would say.

Only Tom knew the real reason, and after this had been going on for over two weeks, he decided it was time to say something.

"Cecilia," he whispered to her at dinner one day. "You have to start eating more. You haven't eaten anything in days. You're going to get very sick."

"I know what's happening, Tom, but I can't help it. I just don't have the will to live anymore. It's like a whole part of me is missing."

"Wouldn't you say that's a little dramatic," Tom asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It's the truth," Cecilia whispered weakly.

"What if we talked about the umm… Would that make it better?" Tom 's face grew hot; he was getting dangerously close to the forbidden subject.

"Oh God, no, Tom. That would just make it worse," Her voice broke off, and she stood up, wobbling slightly. "I better just go."

As she walked off, Tom knew that all hope was lost. He put his head in his hands, closed his eyes, and tried to believe that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

"Really, Tom? Did you have to keep your head down like that the entire dinner? Quite the little drama queen. What a sad excuse for a Slytherin," Zion smirked when they were back in the common room.

A jab of anger shot through Tom, but he was too spent to act upon it. "These common room confrontations are getting old, Zion," he said, staring into the fireplace.

"You know, she's actually quite pretty. That Gryffindor girl you fancy," Zion strolled over to where Tom was sitting and put his hands on the back of Tom's chair.

"It's strange that you would say that, since I'm positive that you were saying the complete opposite not too long ago," Tom muttered, trying his best to remain indifferent.

"I've undergone a deep change this past week," Zion began dramatically, "In fact, it began after you confronted me last week about the party and the terrible mistake I made. I decided that I had to change for the better, and indeed I did. Now I'm seeing things in a whole new light," He leaned over the chair until his mouth was right next to Tom's ear. "Including your little girlfriend."

"The rest of the Slytherins wouldn't like to hear that you have a crush on a Gryffindor, Zion. Isn't your reputation extremely important to you?"

"Oh," Zion walked around Tom's chair and stood in front of the fireplace. His arms were crossed smugly over his chest. "I wouldn't worry about that. I've become quite popular with the rest of the Slytherins, you see. If they found out that I had a crush on a Gryffindor, they wouldn't question it."

Tom rolled his eyes. "Sure." He stood up. "I'll believe it when I see it." He turned around and walked up to his dormitory. Before he closed the door to his room, he heard Zion shout, "You're just jealous!"

And maybe he was. As he lay in bed that night, he thought about how Cecilia had always been his. There was nobody competing for her attention. Of course, you could count Laurence, but now Cecilia completely ignored him. It was just Tom now. He liked it that wat. To think that Zion was just going to stroll into her life and completely ruin it (and Tom fully believed that with Zion in Cecilia's life, it would be complete hell) infuriated him. Then again, though, Cecilia wouldn't be so stupid to ever befriend Zion in the first place. Especially after what he did to both of them. Tom fell asleep that night, reassured that he had nothing to worry about.

* * *

_It was a miracle_. It had to be. Tom couldn't conceal his shock as Cecilia walked up to him at dinner the next evening. She looked…normal. Her hair was back to it's shiny, golden self, and she had a huge smile plastered to her face. Sure, she was still skinny and pale, but her smile was _so_ dazzling.

"Hi Tom," she said brightly as she sat down at the table.

"What happened to you?" Tom asked, dumbstruck.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently, looking herself over.

"You're not sad anymore. You actually look happy."

"Oh," she said happily, "I suppose I do." She giggled quietly and a slight blush appeared on her face. She was hiding something.

"What's the secret?" Tom asked suspiciously.

"Well," she sighed, "I met a boy today. Well, I didn't really meet him, since I've known him for quite some time now, but it's the first time I've really ever had a conversation with him."

_No. It couldn't be. _

"You might know him," she continued, oblivious to Tom's discomfort.

_There was no possible way…_

"It's Zion Turnbeld. He's in our year, and he is so sweet. Especially for a Slytherin."

_It was. _

Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter! I just really wanted to get something out, since I haven't in a really long time. I'm sorry for that. =( Well, you know the drill. **Review!** And I hoped you enjoyed this chapter!


	7. A Light in the Dark

**Chapter 7- A Light in the Dark**

"You can't be serious!" Tom exclaimed, incredulous.

"Of course I am. Why shouldn't I be?" Cecilia flicked a breadcrumb off of the table, seeming to be oblivious yet again to Tom's distress.

"If it wasn't for Zion erasing our memories, we wouldn't be in this predicament now," he reminded her.

"That's exactly why I like talking to him. He knows what happened that night. I told him about the baby, and he understood my pain completely. You don't realize how good it feels to talk to somebody about it."

Tom's head nearly exploded with anger. "I asked you if you wanted to talk about it the other day, and you said no!"

"That's before I realized how good of a thing it was. I thought talking about it would make the pain greater, but it really just makes things much better. Zion helped me realize that." Cecilia sighed. "You know, I don't see why you're so upset over this, Tom. I feel better than I have in days. Can't you just be happy for me?"

"Look, I know Zion. He's not the sort of person you should be around. Besides, the only reason he's talking to you now is because he wants to make me jeal-er-upset."

"And why would that upset you?" Cecilia asked, still confused.

"Because I don't like him! And he knows it."

Cecilia shook her head. "You're acting very childish over this."

"Forget it," Tom stood up, shaking his head "You'll never understand." He stormed off, ignoring Cecilia's pleas to come back.

He kept walking, not knowing exactly where he was headed. Anger and hurt consumed him, and he soon lost his sense of direction. After walking for a while and muttering obscenities, Tom found himself standing in an abandoned hallway that looked like humans hadn't visited it since the time of Professor Binns. It was covered in dust on all sides, and Tom could barely make out the door situated at the opposite end of the hall. He approached it cautiously, for he had seen his fair share of dangerous things at Hogwarts and was not putting anything past the old door. When Tom reached it, he gently pushing it opened, preparing for the worst.

Nothing happened though, and as Tom stepped through the entryway, he was greeted with a fresh cloud of dust. After adjusting his eyes to the darkness, he realized that the room was actually an old classroom. From the spells written on the dusty chalkboard, Tom assumed it had been used as a Defense Against the Dark Arts room. He explored the room, and finding nothing unusual, was just about to leave, when he caught a glint of gold out of the corner of his eye. Turning, Tom saw a beautiful mirror situated in the very corner of the room. He didn't know how he could've looked over it when he was exploring; it was the only thing not covered in dust. Tom walked over to it and stood in front of it, staring into his reflection. He gasped as the image in the mirror transformed.

Instead of staring at himself, Tom was now staring into the faces of of a grown man and a grown woman. They were married, he assumed, from the way they were staring at each other. The man had his arm wrapped protectively around his wife, a loving expression on his face. The wife had a small baby in her arms, and was smiling happily down at it. Her golden curls moved slightly as an invisible wind blew by.

Tom's eyes widened at he stared at the loving family; he knew who the people were. It was Cecilia and him. And that baby Cecilia was holding was… Tom moved closer to the mirror, putting his hands up against the glass. They looked like the perfect family. No, they _were_ the perfect family. Tom couldn't tear his gaze away from it. His older self looked so happy, happier than he had ever been. His heart swelled with desire, for he wanted what he saw inside that mirror more than anything. He, the perfect father. Cecilia, the perfect mother. And the child…the child they'd never have. Tom's shoulder sagged as he remembered the baby. The _dead_ baby.

He stepped away from the mirror, and looked away as anger once again coarsed through him. The mirror wasn't showing him what could be, it was showing him what _couldn't_ be. It was almost as if the bloody thing was taunting him. He'd never be the perfect father, and Cecilia would never be the perfect wife. Together, they would never have the perfect child.

Tom picked up his fist, preparing to crash it through the mirror. Who cared if it brought him seven years of bad luck? It wasn't as if he didn't have enough of that now. Tom never wanted to look into that damn mirror again. He stepped closer, and…

"Bloody hell! What do you think you're doing?" a voice from behind him shouted.

Tom's face went white. He dropped his fist and brought it tightly down to his side. Turning, he saw a girl who looked about the same age as him staring.

"What would possess you to break that mirror? Are you out of your mind?" she continued to shout at him. Her black hair was wild, and her green eyes were wide. Her face was flush with anger.

"That mirror is extremely valuable. How dare you take it upon yourself to destroy it!"

"Who are you?" Tom asked, ignoring her lecture.

"Amelia Gregory, 5th year Ravenclaw. But that's beside the point! What are you even doing down here? Nobody is supposed to be here."

Tom shrugged. "I got lost. What are _you_ doing down here?"

Amelia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "I, um, got lost, too." She turned away from him and began to trail her finger against the dusty wall. For someone who was screaming on the top of her lungs just moments ago, she became awfully quiet.

"You're lying," Tom said, his eyes penetrating into her back.

Amelia groaned and turned around slightly. "Alright, it's no use keeping up this act. You're right; I am lying to you. You see, I discovered this room a couple of weeks ago on accident. When I spotted the mirror, I looked into it and…" She trailed off.

"You hated what you saw?" Tom asked.

"No!" Amelia exclaimed. "I loved what I saw. So I've been coming back once a day now to stare into the mirror for a while. It makes me feel happy."

Tom was shocked. How could the mirror show her something good, while it taunted and angered him? "What do you see when you look into it?" he inquired.

"None of your business," she said, waving away the question. "After I discovered the mirror, I did a little research in the library, and came across an article that explained what it was all about." She went back to trailing her finger along the wall.

"And?" Tom asked impatiently.

"It's called the Mirror of Erised. It shows you what you desire. That explains why I was so happy when I was looking into it."

Tom frowned. Shows you what you desire? Impossible. Tom didn't desire having Cecilia as his wife and them having a child together. Well, maybe he did. Or maybe he just desired having a perfect family. And Cecilia _was_ perfect to him…

"Is something wrong?" Amelia asked, frowning at Tom, who had his arms wrapped tightly around himself.

Tom just shook his head.

"Now _you're_ lying. Just tell me what's wrong. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone. I don't have friends, unless you count a few of the house elves." She came closer to him and sat down at one of the old desks, waiting for him to begin. Tom sighed and sat down next to her.

"I might have feelings for my best friend," he said slowly, realizing how awkward that sounded.

"So?" Amelia asked. "Just tell her. Or is it a him?"

Tom blushed. "It's a her, thank you very much, and it's not that simple. Our relationship is…complicated." Tom then launched into the story of how she became pregnant, how he killed the baby, and how their relationship was now strained because of that. He ended by telling her about Cecilia and her new-found interest in Zion.

"Wow," Amelia said, her eyes wide. "That's quite a relationship."

"I don't know what to do. She's the only friend I have," Tom said, surprised that he was actually telling all of this to someone that he had just met. The thing was, though, that talking to somebody really _did_ help. Tom felt like a weight was lifted off of his chest.

"Are you sure that you have feelings for her?" Amelia asked.

"That's the thing, I'm not sure. A while back she told me that she was Mu-"

Suddenly a bell rang, signaling for all students to head down to the Great Hall.

"Why don't we meet back here tomorrow, same time?" Amelia suggested, standing up and wiping the dust off of herself.

"Okay," Tom said, smiling slightly.

They walked down to the Great Hall together, and Tom learned a little bit more about Amelia. She was the smartest student in their year, and most people thought she was a freak. She spent her days studying instead of socializing, but the fact that she was friendless didn't bother her. "They'll all work for me someday," she said with a smile.

When they entered the Great Hall, they went in opposite directions; Tom heading to the Hufflepuff table to sit with Cecilia, and Amelia to the Ravenclaw table to sit by herself. Tom thought about inviting her to sit with him, but he wanted to be alone with Cecilia.

"Hello," he said to Cecilia, taking his seat across from her at the table.

"I thought you might not want to sit with me," Cecilia admitted sheepishly. "You know, ever since I've become friends with Zion."

"Well, I'll admit, I was angry with you. But that was before I met Amelia."

"Oh, is that the girl you walked in with?" Cecilia asked, and Tom thought he saw her frown.

"Mhm. You were right. I talked to her about what's been going on lately, and it helped so much. I feel so much better."

"Good," Cecilia murmured, and although she spoke it quietly, Tom could've swore he heard a trace of jealousy in her voice.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the update wait, everyone =( My life has been so chaotic lately! Luckliy, I have a plan for the next two or three chapters, so that's a start. I really, really, really enjoy writing this story, and I really, really, really hope you enjoy reading! Thanks to all who have reviewed past chapters, and I hope to see them and new reviewers for this chapter! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and happy holidays to all!**


	8. Life's Annoying

**Chapter 8- Life's Annoying**

Tom and Amelia began to speak to each other on a daily basis, and the two formed a close friendship. They were both outcasts in their own rights, and Tom and Amelia quickly became comfortable expressing their feelings to one another.

Of course, this newfound closeness did not go unnoticed by Cecilia. Sure, she still talked with Zion, but Tom couldn't help but notice a change in her since he began his friendship with Amelia. Cecilia had become quiet and reserved, quite like she was after the baby incident. Her brightness after first connecting with Zion was short-lived; now she rarely even smirked. Tom still ate lunch with Cecelia every day, but the meals were usually filled with silence. Tom became disturbed by this new, dark girl, and he expressed this to Amelia.

"Well, why do _you_ suppose she's like this?" Amelia asked after Tom finished speaking.

They were sitting in the same abandoned classroom in which they first met, and Amelia was idly drawing shapes on a dusty desk. The golden mirror still sat in the corner, giving the room a faint glow, but neither Tom nor Amelia looked into it anymore. It brought on the feelings of desire too strongly, and they both couldn't handle it.

"I have no idea," Tom shrugged. "The only reason I can think of is that Cecelia's jealous of you."

Amelia laughed. "That's complete rubbish. She has no reason to be jealous of me. Cecelia's beautiful, and I'm just..." she trailed off, limply motioning to herself.

Tom grimaced. "It's not your looks I reckon she's jealous of. It's our friendship."

"Now that's even more ridiculous! You're just as a good a friend to her as you are to me."

"I'm not talking to her much anymore," Tom quietly admitted. "She's become so distant that I don't even know what to say to her now."

"If she's that distant, you should question her about it," Amelia suggested. "She probably needs a friend to talk to about whatever's bugging her."

"Cecelia's got Zion," Tom muttered bitterly.

"She needs _you_, Tom. You're the only one that can truly understand her."

"And what if she says that she's mad that we're becoming close friends? What am I supposed to say then?" Tom stood up from the desk he was sitting at and began to pace around the room. He was annoyed that he was the one who had to deal with Cecelia. Wasn't that _Zion's_ job now?

"I doubt that's the reason she's like this, but if it is, then perhaps we should stop being friends," Amelia whispered, tracing a large circle on the dusty desk.

Tom stood still, shocked over what she was saying. "Why would you even suggest that?" he asked angrily, frowning. "I'm not going to stop being friends with you just because Cecelia doesn't like it. _She's_ still friends with Zion even though I don't like it. Besides, I'm allowed to be friends with whoever I want. Unless…" Tom paused. "Do you not want to be friends with me anymore?"

Amelia cast a conflicted glance at the door. "Of course I want to remain friends with you, Tom," she began slowly, "but I know how much Cecelia means to you. I don't want to be the reason you're friendship is destroyed."

"Well, you know if you don't want to be my friend, you can just say so. My feelings won't be hurt, you know. I'm not a baby who can't deal with losing someone. I've lost plenty of people before and you'd just be a name on a long list," Tom began to rant.

"Come off it, would you?" Amelia shouted exasperatedly. "I just told you that I wanted to be friends with you, and I meant it." She sighed. "Look, you're not even positive that that's the reason Cecelia's been acting oddly. Have you ever considered that she may still not be over the whole baby thing?"

Tom shook his head. "No, she's definitely past that. She said Zion had helped her move on. You saw her that day. She couldn't have looked happier."

"Girls are experts at hiding their true feelings," Amelia murmured, getting up walking slowly around the room. "You know, I've always loved the name Bellatrix…"

Tom groaned. "Can you please stay on topic? There's no way Cecelia's upset over the baby thing, so try to give me a more logical answer."

"That's another thing. If Zion made her so happy , why isn't he making her happy now? There's definitely something wrong there."

"No, I'm still sure of the fact that it's our friendship that's been bothering her. She would've said something to me if it were anything else."

Amelia sighed. "Well, the only way you're going to find out is if you ask her." Suddenly the lunch bell chimed. "Ah," Amelia said, staring at Tom with an odd gleam in her eye, "Perfect timing. You can go and ask Cecelia right now."

"Um, I don't know if I want to do it so soon," Tom stuttered as Amelia pulled him out of the classroom, and hurried him down the hall.

"You know you want to do it, Tom," Amelia simply stated as they walked down the Hall, and Tom stopped his whining. In reality, he was quite anxious to figure out what was wrong with Cecelia, and he knew asking her would be the only way to find out. The problem was, how would he approach the subject without making it sound too evasive? He contemplated ways all the way down to the Great Hall.

_What if she really did say she was jealous? Would Tom have the guts to end his friendship with Amelia? Or even harder, his friendship with Cecelia?_

Before he knew it, Amelia and he were in the Great Hall, and Amelia was bidding him goodbye. "Tell me how it goes," she whispered to him before striding over to the Ravenclaw table.

Tom walked over to his and Cecelia's spot at the Hufflepuff table, still comtemplating how to approach Cecelia on the subject of her misery.

She entered the Hall moments later, and barely glanced at Tom as she sat down opposite him at the table. The dark circles under her eyes were more pronounced than ever. Her golden hair was ratty and knotted, and she was paler than the Bloody Baron. Tom couldn't help but stare guiltily at her; he knew he was the cause of this new her. Amelia's words rang out in his mind:_ "You're just as good a friend to her as you are to me."_

Well, that was a total lie, and Tom was exaggerating when he said "he didn't talk to her much now." In fact, he basically ignored her during classes, but even the teachers did nowadays. This newfound darkness around Cecelia made most people stay away. Yet, they still ate lunch together every day, and Tom couldn't really understand why. He never talked to her at the lunch table now, either. _Maybe Amelia is right,_ Tom thought._ Maybe this is still about the baby. He was a fool to think that Zion could have been a comfort to her._

"You're not over the baby, are you?" Tom blurted out before he realized what he was doing.

Cecelia looked up sharply, shocked to hear Tom speaking to her. Her blue eyes became curious, while still being watery with sadness. She ineffectively tried to tame her wild mane of blonde hair. Clearing her throat, she said quietly, "Oh, of course not. I'm, um, over that now." It seemed as if she was trying to avoid Tom's piercing gaze.

"It's Amelia and I, then. You're jealous of our friendship. Not that I can blame you," he muttered guiltily, "I've been treating you like dung lately."

Cecelia shook her head quickly. "Why should I be jealous of you two? I'm happy that you're making new friends."

"Then why are you acting this way?" Tom asked angrily. "I hate the person you've become!"

Cecelia looked immensely tired. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You won't tell your best friend what's wrong?" Tom asked, slightly hurt.

She let out a weak laugh. "A best friend who hasn't spoken to me in days."

"Then you are jealous!" Tom exclaimed.

"Why would I be jealous that you were hanging out with the least popular, most freakish girl in our year?" Cecelia asked quietly.

Tom's nerves exploded. "Don't talk about Amelia that way. You don't even know her. How did I ever become friends with someone like you? Of course," Tom continued loudly, "I become friends with the person who has more issues than Nearly Headless Nick."

"As if you don't have your own boatload of troubles, Tom!" Cecelia shouted. "You need to stop pretending that you're going to live the perfect life. I know you wanted that baby. I know how much you day-dreamed about having the perfect family. It was always written on your face. Well, Tom, it's never going to happen. When you killed that baby, your dreams of perfect went right with it."

"Oh, so you're saying I'm responsible for killing the baby?" Tom seethed. "I'll remind you, Cecelia, that you asked for it to be killed." Tom stared at her as she sat in silence. He was feeling unexplainable hatred towards here, and even more so, he was shocked he could feel this way towards Cecelia. "You know what?" he muttered to her, gathering his things on the table, "I'm leaving." He turned swiftly and began to walk away.

"You always come back, " Cecelia whispered softly, staring at Tom with her now piercing blue eyes. "You're never gone for long."

"It'll be different this time," Tom whispered back bitterly and walked away, not bothering to turn back to see Cecelia's reaction.

**Author's Note: It's been….a while, to say the least. I have nooo excuses once so ever. Stuff happens, you know? Well, I'm back, and I thank all you readers who stayed with me even after this unannounced hiatus. I'm doing something different now, and for those who review this chapter, I'll send them some a little info about the future of all our friends in this story. =D Again, thanks to everyone, and I apologize again about the long break. =(**


	9. Darkness Looms Around Every Corner

**Chapter 9**

**Darkness Looms Around Every Corner**

"You know, Tom, I've been watching you closely the past couple of months. You're quite the Potions wiz. Tell me, do you do just as well in all your other classes?" Slughorn smiled innocently, but the look in his eyes made Tom feel like prey.

It had been a week since Tom had "broke up" with Cecelia, and oddly, it was…liberating. Tom felt as if the chains that had been holding him back for so long were finally broken, and he was overjoyed. He could do whatever he wanted now without having to worry about what Cecelia would think or what Cecelia would say. When he walked away from her that day at lunch, Tom walked away from everything he had been up till then. Now he could reinvent himself, become the person he truly wanted to be. A person whose life did not include a blonde haired, blue-eyed nuisance.

But she wasn't a nuisance. And he was kidding himself by saying he was better off without her. He hadn't really meant what he said at the lunch table that day. It had all just spilled out. Tom wanted to hurt her, and well, he succeeded. Cecelia hadn't batted an eye in Tom's direction since then. And it hurt. The pang he felt in his chest any time he thought of her made him hate himself for ever walking away from her. Now there was no chance of them becoming the best friends they once were. Tom Riddle was alone for the millionth time in his life.

Well, he still had Amelia. That was slightly comforting. Yet, it wasn't enough. Sure, Amelia was a good friend and all, but she _wasn't_ Cecelia. Amelia understood him, but only to a certain point. She could become stubborn and bitingly sarcastic. Cecelia was forever angelic.

"Tom?" Slughorn cocked his head, staring at Tom as if he suddenly transformed into a Pigmy Puff. They were sitting in his office, drinking Butterbeer, as Slughorn tried to make conversation. He had invited Tom the day before and not having enough time to think up a logical excuse, Tom agreed.

"Oh, um, yes, Professor. I do well in all my classes." Tom fidgeted in the plush, upholstered chair he was sitting in.

"Ah, of course, of course." Slughorn stood and began fixing himself another Butterbeer. "You know, Tom, every now and then a certain student catches my eye. A _special_ student. A student who I feel could go on to greatness after departing from the corridors of Hogwarts. A student that could become, say, Minister of Magic, or captain of a professional Quidditch team, or editor of the Daily-"

"Professor, is there something you're trying to get at?" Tom asked impatiently. This was starting to become unbearable. The room seemed to be caving in on Tom, and he had the sudden urge to run as far away from Slughorn as he could get.

"Well," Slughorn began slowly, "I started a club. I'm sure you've heard of it. It's quite acclaimed. Its filled with all types of special students. And I'd like you to be a part of it, Tom. For you are indeed special and destined for great things; I have a knack for seeing greatness in people. I truly believe you joining this club will help further not only your leadership and communication skills, but help you make friends. I'm not completely oblivious, my dear boy. I know you're not quite apt in the "socializing" part of life."

Tom jumped up. "I'll have you know I'm just fine at "socializing", Professor. And I don't think I want to join this stupid little club of yours," he snapped. Tom slammed his cup on Slughorn's desk, and stormed out of the room.

Out in the corridor, Tom leaned against a wall and attempted to calm himself down. He had been snaping at people so quickly lately, and dare he say it, he was beginning to become self-concious. With Cecelia gone, he realized that he didn't really have all that many friends. Without friends, there was no protection from the evils of gossiping students. _Was it really that obvious, though?_ Were people talking about him? Did they not _want_ to become friends with him? Tom shook his head.

_Damn them all. They all deserve to go to hell. Starting with those ridiculous Muggleborns. _An image of Cecelia flicked into his head. _Even her…._especially_ her. She's caused me nothing but grief and she deserves to suffer. She deserves the same amount of pain I have to endure. No, she deserves _more_. _

These thoughts ran through Tom's head all the way back to his dormitory where he proceeded to throw himself onto his bed and scream. _Screaming_…an interesting thing. Though a hideous sound, all of Tom's angry feelings were immediately gone when he screamed, as if they went right out _with_ the scream. He screamed again. Even better. Tom thought about his parents, and how they abandoned him. **Scream**. Zion's blackmailing. **Scream**. Amelia only half-caring. **Scream**. Cecelia. **Scream. Scream. Scream**. Tom continued to scream until he eventually fell asleep; screaming made you become quite tired. He was surprised nobody came up to check to see if he was okay. Then again, it wasn't as if Slytherins were the most concerned people...

* * *

**_In another part of Hogwarts…_**

"Cecelia? Why are you acting so bitchy? Just tell me what the hell is wrong."

Zion and Cecelia were sitting in the library. It was dark, and no one was around. Zion's hands were tightly holding onto Cecelia's shoulders.

Cecelia only whimpered.

Zion shook her shoulders softly. "You can tell me anything, you know."

She remained silent.

He shook her shoulders again, harder this time. "I'm going to give you three seconds to tell me what's wrong before I leave you here, alone. And I'll never talk to you again. You'll be alone. All alone. With no friends. No one will like you. I'll tell everyone your secret."

Cecelia began to cry.

"One." His hold on her shoulders got tighter.

"Two." The hold got so tight that Cecelia felt as if one of her bones might break.

"Thr-"

"It's Tom!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face. "I miss him."

"You still care for that bloody git?" Zion asked, his face full of disgust.

"No, I, um, well, I don't really _care_ for him…"

"Yes, you do." Zion said, his hold on her shoulders still unbearably tight. "You love that bastard. You love him, don't you?"

Cecelia didn't respond. Zion began to shake her fiercely.

"You love him! I know you do! Just admit it, you mudblood!" he shouted.

"I don't know if I do!" Cecelia screamed.

Zion released his hold on her, and Cecelia collapsed into a heap on the couch they were sitting on.

"What a stupid, little bitch you are. Well, I know for a fact he's forgotten all about you. It's obvious he's in love with that freak, Amelia. He forgot about you a long time ago."

"Don't say that," she coughed. "Tom's always cared about me. I just-"

"What? Know it? No, I'm afraid you don't. You only wish you knew it." Zion laughed. "To think that you have me, a better friend than anyone could have, and you still want more. And worst of all, you want_ him_. How stubborn of you. I don't appreciate stubbornness, Cecelia. I'm sure you know that," he whispered, getting close to her face. He began to stroke her hair. "I'm willing to forgive you, though. But you'll have to do something to prove that you still want me in your life. Will you do what I say?"

Cecelia grunted in response.

"I need you to kill Tom Riddle," he said simply.

Cecelia sat upright. "Never. I couldn't."

Zion raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you couldn't? Hmm…well, I suppose that there's another option." Zion pulled Cecelia up into his arms and brushed his lips across her cheek. She flinched away.

"You decide," he whispered against her forehead. He threw her back down onto the couch and swiftly left the room, leaving Cecelia broken and weeping.

**Author's Note: Well, this was pretty dark, and I gotta say, I had a blast writing it. This sets up the plot for a little while before another twist develops. =) I hope to have at least one chapter detailing Cecelia's back story to add a break to all this drama. Hoped you enjoyed! Reviews are niceee.**


	10. Sorry

Due to lack of response and lack of drive, this story is being put on hiatus. My passion for this story is currently lost, and I've been more focused on my other stories: Hello Again (Glee, St. Berry fic) and Their Worst Nightmare (Hunger Games fic)

Sorry if this upsets anyone, but I promise I'll come back to this fic when my inspiration returns. Thanks to all who have been reading this story and most especially, to all the reviewers =)


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